Microsoft to boost hybrid cloud implementation in Indonesia

• Partners six local cloud providers to aid local businesses
• IDC sees cloud implementation slowing due to political situation

MICROSOFT Indonesia hosted the Microsoft Hybrid Cloud Summit in Jakarta to reiterate the advantages of a truly consistent cloud adoption for businesses to manage data in the digital transformation era.

At the event, Microsoft highlighted how businesses today need to be agile yet secure to adapt to the Industry 4.0 era.

The “Making Indonesia 4.0” roadmap which was launched earlier this year by the Ministry of Industry, plays an important part in the national agenda and is one of the cross-sector initiatives is to build a national digital infrastructure.

Microsoft Indonesia president director Haris Izmee says, “We have been in the cloud business in Indonesia for six years and invested over US$15 billion in global cloud computing infrastructure and over US$1billion annually on cyber-security research and development over the years. This shows how committed we are in helping companies around the world, including Indonesia, to embrace a new way of working.”

Microsoft has collaborated with six local partners, namely Telkom Telstra, CBN Cloud, ViBiCloud, Visionet (VidiaCloud), Datacomm, and Angkasa, to help businesses in Indonesia embrace the implementation of intelligent cloud.

During the Asian Games 2018, which was managed by the Asian Games Organising Committee (INASGOC), Microsoft’s hybrid cloud Azure Stack, in collaboration with local partner PT Kreatif Dinamika Integrasi, was utilised to manage data.

INASGOC IT department director, Pandji Choesin says, “The success of the Asian Games 2018 is highly involved with technological intervention. The Asian Games 2018’s IT team consisted of 27 professional experts from various associations and IT communities with the aid of IT volunteers who safeguarded the Asian Games information system.

“We partnered with Microsoft, who through Azure was trusted to provide systematic and reliable information. Knowing the use of cloud computing was the first in the history of Asian Games, its success was a real example of Microsoft Azure’s competence in exercising its responsibility.”

Microsoft’s Haris went on to say that the company has to keep up with rapidly changing customer needs and expectations.

“Through our 700 technology partners and numerous independent software vendors (ISV) offering multiple solutions across industries, it has been our continuous mission in Microsoft to empower every person and every organisation in Indonesia, to achieve more and get the best out of the businesses.”

Microsoft has also trained 1,000 students through partnerships with five local universities.

Cloud in Indonesia

IDC market analyst for IT services Meily Lisdiyanti tells Digital News Asia that the implementation of hybrid cloud is trending now, as shown by the collaboration between Microsoft and its partners. IDC sees a 19% growth in cloud implementation from 2017 to 2022.

“Organisations implement cloud to accommodate Government Regulation No.82/2012 (PP 82) and have the mindset to be agile in their business.

PP 82 requires the building of data centres in Indonesia or being located in the country or having local data residency.

The implementation of PP 82 was announced by the government in 2012 and is aimed at securing all confidential data, such as private information and financial transactions, from possible misconduct, as well as to facilitate the government in conducting investigations into particular cases.

She says this growth is sufficient for Indonesia, but, there might be a slowdown in cloud implementation due to the government’s plans to revise some points in PP 82 and the presidential election in 2019.

“We predict that after the election year when the economy is stable, organisations will start to spend more again on cloud because they can get benefits from it.”

Meily also said that cloud providers had their own segmentation of markets and implementation of cloud in SMEs will increase.

“For SMEs, they need to understand better their market and should try implementing cloud on a small scale first and extending it further later.

“As for vendors, when they serve SMEs, they will generate only a small value but a huge number of clients. As for those who serves enterprise, although the value is big, it takes time for an organisation to make decisions. Therefore, vendors here always serve SMEs as their first market.”